Trolley system



0. A. GOLBY.

TROLLEY SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3.:915.

11333507, Patented Mar.16,192 0.

wnwssses; INVENTOR dd, W l 0:424 .Ca/fiy UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

on: A. COLBY, F LAnIn-En, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOWESTINGHQUSE ELEc'rnIe A m MANUFAGTURING' coMPAnmjA CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

' Application fiiea Febru r a, 1915. Serial no. 5,876.

To all whom it may concern trolleywith a current-collecting device that Be it known that I,- ORA A. COLBY, a citi zen of the United States, and aresident of Larimeiy-in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley Systems, of which the followingis aspecification.

My invention relates to trolley systems for electric railway vehicles, and it has special reference to trolleys of the sliding-contact pantoigraph'type and to catenary line*construction of the double conductor type;

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a trolley capable of collecting heavy currents at all speeds with a minimum of sparking or burning atthe trolleycontact surface. s

"A more articularobject of my invention is to provi e a current-collecting device with an upwardly projecting portion adapted to make sliding Contact with the inner adjacent surfaces of two freely hung contact-conductorsr v v In a pantograph trolley having 'a'contact shoe adapted to engage the under surface of a single contact conductor,- there is-often considerable chattering and bouncing of the'shoe at high speeds, thus reducingthe current-collecting capacity of the trolley and causing excessive wear and: burning on thecontaot conductoii Accordingto my invention, I provide a is, adapted toniake contact with the inner adjacent sides of two closely hung parallelz nding contactconductors in such nerasto permit of considerable vertical and lateral movement of the trolley without sparking or breaking contact with the trolley conductors. I. provide'also a catenary trol: ley' structure in which two parallel extend ing contact conductors are pivotally s us pendedfrom a sin le messenger eable'in such manner as to be orcedapart by acurrentcollecting device adapted to be'interposed between them and tomake sliding contact therewith. r 1'1:

My invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a view, in "end elevation,

and Fig. 2 is a view, inside elevation, of one form of apparatus embodying my invention;

Figs. 8 and-.4 are views, in end elevation and in side elevation, respectively, of a modificaf tion of my mventiomianclFig. 5 s aview,

TROLIiEY' sYsmEM.

Mar. 16, 1920.

which is.

carried uponthe upper portion of the frame 1, comprises a centrally-located, upwardlyp-rojecting member 4:, the lower portion'of which is provided with'slots 4 for positioning. said member in a manner to be hereinafter described. The member 4 serves as a support and guide for a plurality of oppo sitely disposed curved Contact straps 5,-which are united at the top" and at the bottom of. thesupporting'member' 4. and have their middlefportions flared outwardly to formcurved wedge-shaped contact" surfaces 5*. The central member 4 is slid'ably carried on a horizontal laterally/extending rod 6 bymeans. of a bearing member 7, thatislocated nearits lower edge. Compression springs 8 surround the respective ends of the rod 6 be tween the bearing member 7 and upper end memb'ersl-O of the frame 1 and tend to maintain the'member at in a central position on the rod- 6, Horizontal positioning rods 9- are also provided, said rods being carriedbetweenthe upper end members 10 of the frame 1' 'andprojecting through the slots 4 tomaintain the member 4: substantially ered. p p

The catenary-line structure 3 comp-rises a messenger cable 1 1, a plurality of freely suspended rods or hangers 12 depending therefrom, the lower ends of whic'nare provided with suitable clamping members 13 that carry a pair of parallel-extendingtrolley COIldllCllQIS 14. The contact conduetors 14 are alternately supported at'suitable in tervalsby' the hangers 12which are freely suspendedin a staggered relation from the messenger cable '11 in such manner that the conductors 14L tend to normally lie 'in con-tact with each other. 1

- W iththe trolley in the raisedposition, as shown in the drawing, the upward thrust of the wedge-shaped contactshoe 2 forces the horizontal when the trolley is raised or low- I Contact CfllltlllCtOi'S 1 1 apart until "a condition is reached where the downward component tors 14, as the frame 1 may move an ap-.' preclable distance to elther side before one of the springs 8 is compressed sufiiciently to bodily move' the current-collecting device against the side pressure of the opposite contact conductors.

A very large side movement of the frame 1, however, will compress one of the springs 8, movethe current-collecting device 2 to one side, raise one of the contact conductors 1 1, and break. contact with the other and allow it to hang freely in a substantially vertical plane-with the messenger cable. However, as alateral movement of the trolley will never cause the current-collecting device to becomedisengaged from both contact conductors at the same time, the collection of current is uninterrupted by such movements.

When a small downward movement of the trolley occurs, the force of. gravity will cause the contact conductors'la to approacheach otherand follow the curved surfaces 5 of the" contact shoe 2, thus assuring contact engagementfor a limited range of vertical movementof the trolley.

The modification of my invention, shown in Figs. 3 and 4:, differs from the form just described chiefly in that the guide member 4:, shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as a part of the current-collecting device, is omitted. In this structure, contact straps 15 are made 7 of resilient material in order to provide for collecting device 17. This form has the advantage of greater simplicity and lightness than the form first described.

- The modification of my invention, shown in Fig. 5, differs from the first form only in the detailconstruction of the'current-eollecting device 2. The current-collecting device 2 comprises a pair ofoppositely-disposed, upwardly extending members 18, which are pivotally mounted on a shaft 19 that is carried by the base 20. The upper portions of the members 18 form curved contact members 18 which terminate in points 18*, and thelower portions of the members 18 have shoulders 18 adapted tolimit the'rotative movement of the members 18. The base 20 is provided with surfaces 20" to form stops for the shoulders 18' of the members 18. A

may be compressed to approximately one half its original length before its reaction is equal to the horizontal component of the weight of one of the contact conductors 14, so that the spring-21 is compressed as the points 18 spread the contact-conductors 14 until a condition obtains, as shown in the drawing, in which the upwardthrust of the current-collecting device 2 is counterbalanced.

With the trolley in its lowered position and the frame 1 collapsed, the spring 21 forces the members 18 apart until the shoulders 18 on the members 18 engage the stops 20 onthe base 20. This. movement brings the points 18 in line so that the edge of a wedge is presented to force the contact conductors 1 1 apart when the trolley is raised.

The pressure of the spring 21 insures good contact on the trolley conductors 14 during small vertical movements of the trolley, and the rotative movements of the contact members 18 about the rod 19 allows a certain amount of lateral movement of the trolley without dis lacing the contact conductors 14 or brea ing contact engagement with either of them. A large lateral movement of the trolley will swing one contact conductor to one side and break contact with the other, but the members 18 will never be simultaneously disengaged from both trolley conductors. under normal conditions. y

I do not wish to be restricted to the specific structural details shown as it is evident that the benefits of my. invention may be obtained in other structures differing from those described but embodying the principles 0f myinvention. I desire, therefore. that only such limitations shall be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims. a greater movement of the trolley frame 1, without affecting the position of the current-.

with'the inner and under adjacent surfaces thereof, and resilient means for biasingsaid contact shoe laterally and toward said conductors.

3. The combination with a plurality of parallel-extending trolley conductors, of a current-collecting device comprising a vertically projecting resiliently-mounted laterally movable trolley shoe, having a relatively thin upper edge and surfaces diverging from said edge adapted to move at right angles to said trolley conductors to force them apart and make sliding contact with the inner and under adjacent surfaces of said conductors during a relatively Wide range of separation thereof.

4. The combination with a pantograph frame, of a current-collecting device 1n0unted thereon and comprising aplurality of substantially edge-shaped vertically projecting contact straps, a longitudinal centrally-disposed supporting member for said contact straps,iand a pair of centralizing springs disposed one at each side of said 'supportlng member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 26th day of Jan,

ORAA. COLBY. Witnesses v H. L. KEITH,

B. B. I-IINES. 

